No. 10 Duke Downs No. 44 Notre Dame, 4-1

Sunday, April 3

Durham, N.C.

11:00 AM

Duke University

Notre Dame

No. 10 Duke Downs No. 44 Notre Dame, 4-1

4/3/2016 3:30:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score: Duke 4, Notre Dame 1

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – The 10th-ranked Duke women's tennis team, propelled by a quick start in doubles, defeated No. 44 Notre Dame, 4-1, Sunday at Ambler Tennis Stadium in Durham, N.C. The win marked the Blue Devils' 12th victory over a nationally ranked opponent this season. Duke improved to 15-3 overall and 8-2 against ACC competition with the win, while Notre Dame dropped to 10-9 overall and 4-6 in conference play.

“Playing away and home on the same weekend is never easy,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “It's physically draining, but I thought we competed pretty well, regardless. We could have played better, but I was happy with the level that we competed. We fought our way back in some matches. One thing we talked about before the match was having a lot of emotion and trying to play with emotion. We wanted to let that carry us a bit. We did that at the start of doubles, but we have to do that throughout the match.”

For the second consecutive competition, the Blue Devils secured the doubles point, earning wins on courts two and three. Duke owns a perfect 13-0 record this year when heading into singles with a one-point lead.

The Duke tandem of sophomore Samantha Harris and freshman Kaitlyn McCarthy cruised on court two in its contest against Julie Vrabel and Mary Closs of Notre Dame, defeating the Fighting Irish duo, 6-0. Harris and McCarthy improved to 14-3 on the season with the victory. Sunday's result also marked the third match this season Harris and McCarthy did not drop a game when competing as a doubles team.

Duke clinched the doubles point after juniors Chalena Scholl and Alyssa Smith defeated Notre Dame's pair of Brooke Broda and Allison Miller, 6-4. Smith and Scholl were in top form at the outset of the match, taking a 3-0 lead before Broda and Miller won a game. A Duke hold brought the score to 4-1 before Broda and Miller won back-to-back games. A well-timed break by Scholl and Smith extended the Duke pair's lead to two games before the Fighting Irish once again won a game. With Notre Dame serving, Scholl and Smith seized the momentum and won the final game, improving the duo's record to 13-5 on the year.

With the doubles point decided, the match on court one between the 13th-ranked tandem of senior Beatrice Capra and freshman Ellyse Hamlin and the 32nd-ranked team of Quinn Gleason and Monica Robinson remained unfinished, with the score tied at 4-4.

Although the Blue Devils picked up the three singles wins necessary to clinch the match, the success from doubles did not immediately translate to the singles courts.

“I think we relaxed after the doubles,” Ashworth said. “We can't afford to do that against anyone. Hopefully we learned from that. If you win the doubles point, you need to gain the momentum right away. We kind of let our foot off the gas a bit.”

The Blue Devils took a 2-0 lead after Scholl, the 92nd-ranked singles player in the country, posted a 6-3, 6-3 win over Robinson, the 61st-ranked singles player, on court two. The two competitors traded the lead through the first six games to open the match, however Scholl took three straight games to close out the first set. Scholl never trailed in the second set. With the score tied at 2-2, the Pompano Beach, Fla., native won three consecutive games to take a 5-2 lead. Although Robinson would win a game, bringing the set to 5-3, Scholl successfully served out the match to earn her 19th victory of the season. Scholl also improved to a near-perfect 9-1 when competing against ACC foes.

“I was really happy with the enthusiasm and emotion that [Scholl] brought to the court today,” Ashworth said. “She was vocal and pumping her fist. You could hear her on all six courts. I think she, by far, was the energy leader that we needed at the start of the match.”

McCarthy, the 35th-ranked singles player, brought Duke within a point of the victory with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Miller on court three. In the first set, McCarthy dropped the two opening games, however the Cary, N.C., native proved unfazed as she won six straight. In the second set, McCarthy stormed out to a 4-1 lead before Miller fought back to tie the set at 4-4. A break and a hold for McCarthy would earn her the victory and improve her record to a team-best 23-6 on the season.

Notre Dame cut Duke's lead to two after 78th-ranked Hamlin dropped her contest against Broda on court five, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3). Broda claimed a three-game lead at the start of the first set, but a Hamlin break cut the advantage to just two games. Hamlin was unable to pull any closer however, dropping the final two games to fall behind by a set. In the second set, Hamlin once again trailed by three games, as the score read 5-2, but the Fairfield, Conn., native won four straight games to gain a 6-5 lead. Broda won the 12th game of the set to force a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Broda took an early lead that she would not relinquish. The result moved Hamlin's record to 11-8 on the year.

The match was clinched on court one as 28th-ranked Capra defeated 45th-ranked Gleason, 7-5, 6-3. After falling into a 4-2 hole in the first set, Capra held serve and broke Gleason's serve to tie the set at 4-4. Capra and Gleason would trade games, bringing the score to 5-5, before a hold and a break for Capra provided the Ellicott City, Md., native with the first-set win. In the second set, Capra trailed 3-2, but a four-game run provided Duke with the final point necessary to earn the victory. Capra's win moved her record to 9-5 on the year.

“This is the last stretch of the season, so I feel like a lot of the matches are going to come down to grinding it out,” Capra said. “Everyone is a bit emotionally and physically tired right now, so we have to keep pushing forward. Emotion is really important. When you're tired on the court, especially when we've had a long season like this, knowing that you have your teammate emotionally invested in the match helps get you fired up. Today, I saw Chalena really pumped up and that gave me more motivation. When we're emotionally at our best, we're playing really well.”

With the match decided, competition on courts four and six remained unfinished. Harris led Closs on court four, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 4-0, while redshirt freshman Christina Makarova trailed Jane Fennelly, 6-4, 5-3, on court six.

Duke remains in Durham for a midweek contest with No. 11 Michigan Wednesday. The match is set for a 1p.m. start in Ambler Tennis Stadium.

#GoDuke

#10 Duke 4, #44 Notre Dame 1

Singles competition
1. #28 Beatrice Capra (DU) def. #45 Quinn Gleason (ND) 7-5, 6-3
2. #92 Chalena Scholl (DU) def. #61 Monica Robinson (ND) 6-3, 6-3
3. #35 Kaitlyn McCarthy (DU) def. Allison Miller (ND) 6-2, 6-4
4. Samantha Harris (DU) vs. Mary Closs (ND) 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 4-0, unfinished
5. Brooke Broda (ND) def. #78 Ellyse Hamlin (DU) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
6. Christina Makarova (DU) vs. Jane Fennelly (ND) 4-6, 3-5, unfinished

Doubles competition
1. #13 Beatrice Capra/Ellyse Hamlin (DU) vs. #32 Quinn Gleason/Monica Robinson (ND) 4-4, unfinished
2. Samantha Harris/Kaitlyn McCarthy (DU) def. Julie Vrabel/Mary Closs (ND) 6-0
3. Chalena Scholl/Alyssa Smith (DU) def. Brooke Broda/Allison Miller (ND) 6-4